The Casque's Lark; or, Victoria, the Mother of the Camps

CHAPTER VI
THE FLIGHT

From the solitude and darkness in which I was left at the departure of Elwig's sacrificial assistants, I could see the mouth of the cavern at some distance. The opening grew darker and darker as dusk yielded to night. Presently the gloom became complete, relieved only, from time to time, by the flickering light that the flames of the fire, kept alive under the huge brass caldron by the two hags, occasionally cast upon the grotto's mouth.

I tried to snap my bonds. With my hands and feet free, I would have endeavored to disarm one of the Franks who guarded the issue, and, sword in hand, and protected by the darkness of the night, I would have reached the river bank guided by the sound of the rushing waves. Perhaps and notwithstanding the orders I gave him, Douarnek might not yet have rowed back to camp. But all my efforts proved futile against the bow-strings and the belt that held me fast. A muffled but increasing rumbling of feet and voices began to announce to me the arrival and assembling of a large number of people in the neighborhood of the cave. They must he doubtlessly gathering to witness my execution and listen to the auguries of the priestess.

I believed there was nothing left to me but to resign myself to my fate. I turned my last thoughts to my wife and child.

Suddenly, from the thickest of the surrounding darkness I heard the voice of Elwig two steps behind me. I started with surprise. I was certain she did not enter by the mouth of the cavern.

"Follow me," she said.

At the same moment her feverish hand seized mine and held it firmly.

"How came you here?" I asked her stupefied, with hope re-rising in my breast, and endeavoring to walk.

"The cavern has two issues," Elwig answered. "One of them is secret and known to me only. It is by that entrance that I came in, while the kings are waiting for me at the other entrance near the caldron. Come! Come! Take me to the bark where the treasure lies, where you left the necklaces, bracelets, diadems and other jewels!"

"My legs are tied," I said. "I can hardly put one foot before the other."

Elwig did not answer, but I could feel that she was cutting with her knife the leather strap and the bow-strings that bound my arms and legs. I was free!

"And your brother," I inquired, following close upon her footsteps, "has he regained consciousness?"

"Neroweg is still dazed, like a bull whom the butcher did not kill outright. He awaits in his hut the hour of your execution. I am to notify him in time. He wishes to see you suffer and die. Come, come!"

"The darkness is so intense that I can not see before me."

"Give me your hand."

"Should your brother tire of waiting," I observed as she almost dragged me along through the windings of the secret issue, "and should he enter the sacred wood with the other chieftains and not find either you or me in the cavern, what will happen? Will they not immediately start in pursuit of us?"

"Only I know this secret issue. When they miss both you and me from the cave, my brother and the chiefs will believe that I made you descend to the gods of the nether world. They will be all the more afraid of me. Come! Come quick!"

While Elwig thus spoke I was following her through so narrow a passage that I felt myself grazing the rocks on either side. The passage seemed at first to dip down towards the bowels of the earth, but presently its ascent became so steep and difficult for my legs, still numb from their recent ligatures, that it was with difficulty I kept step with the hurrying priestess. We had been for some time in the maze of the underground cave when at last I felt the fresh air strike my face. I imagined we were about to step into the open.

"To-night, after I shall have killed my brother in revenge for his outrages upon me," Elwig explained to me in abrupt words, "I shall flee with a king whom I love. He is waiting for us outside. He is strong, brave and well armed. He will accompany us to your bark. If you deceived me, Riowag will kill you – do you hear me, Gaul? You will fall under his axe."

I was little affected by the threat – my hands were free – my only uneasiness was whether Douarnek and the bark still waited for me.

A moment later we issued out of the cavern. The stars shone so brilliant in the sky that once out of the wood in which we still were, I was certain I would be able to see my way before me.

The priestess stopped for a moment and called:

"Riowag!"

"Riowag is here," answered a voice so close to me that I realized the chief of the black warriors was near enough to be able to touch me. Nevertheless, it was in vain that I sought to distinguish his black shape in the dark. It became clearer to me than ever before how, by rendering themselves undistinguishable in the dark, these men could not choose but be dangerous foes in a night assault or ambuscade.

"Is it far from here to the river bank?" I asked Riowag. "You must know the spot where I landed; you were the chief of the band that greeted me with a volley of arrows."

"No, we have not far to go," Riowag answered.

"Shall we have to cross the camp?" I inquired, perceiving the lights of the Frankish encampment at a little distance.

Neither of my two guides made any answer. They exchanged a few words in a low voice, each took me by an arm, and they struck into a path that led away from the camp. Soon the roar of the rushing waters of the Rhine reached our ears. We drew rapidly near the shore. Finally from the height of the embankment on which we stood, I could distinguish a bluish sheet of water across the darkness – it was the river!

"We shall now ascend the beach about two hundred feet," said Riowag; "we shall then be at the spot where you reached land under our arrows. Your bark must be only a little distance from there. If you deceived us your blood will redden the beach, and the waters of the Rhine will wash away your corpse."

"Can we call out from the bank without being heard by the outposts of the camp?" I asked the Frank.

"The wind blows off shore," Riowag answered with the sagacity of a savage. "You can freely raise your voice and call; you will not be heard at the camp, and your voice will surely travel to the middle of the stream."

Riowag walked a few steps further and then stopped.

"It is here," he said, "where you reached land; your bark must be anchored near by. I am a professional night warrior, and am able to see through the dark, but I can not distinguish your bark."

"Oh! You deceived us! You deceived us!" murmured Elwig in a subdued voice. "You will die for it!"

"It may be," I observed, "that, after having waited for me in vain, the bark may have just left its anchorage. The wind will carry my voice far; I shall call."

Saying this I raised our battle cry of rally, well known to Douarnek.

Only the sound of the waves made answer.

Doubtlessly Douarnek had followed my orders and rowed back to camp at sunset.

I uttered our war cry a second time and louder than the first.

Again the only response was the rushing of the waves.

Meaning to gain time and prepare myself for defense, I said to Elwig: "The wind blows off shore; it carries my voice to the river; but it blows back the voices that may have answered my signal. Let us listen!"

While I spoke I strained my eyes to peer through the dark and discover the weapons that Riowag was armed with. In his belt he carried a dagger; in his hand his short, broad sword. Although he and his beloved were close to me, one on each side, I could elude them with a bound, plunge into the river, and escape by swimming. I was watching for my opportunity when suddenly the distant and rhythmic sound of oars reached my ears. My call was heard by Douarnek.

In the measure that the decisive instant approached, the suspense and uneasiness of Elwig and her companion increased. To kill me would be to renounce the possession of the treasure, which, I had clearly told them, my soldiers would deliver only at my orders. But again, to allow the latter to disembark would be to furnish me with auxiliaries and render mine the stronger side. Elwig no doubt began to realize that her greed had carried her too far. Seeing the bark draw nearer she said to me in great excitement:

"The sacredness of the Gallic word is proverbial. You owe your life to me. I hope you did not deceive me with a false promise."

That priestess of the nether world, the incestuous and blood-thirsty monster, who had meant to cut out my tongue in order to make sure of my silence, and who calmly contemplated adding fratricide to her other crimes, had saved my life moved thereto only by base greed. Nevertheless, I could not remain insensible to her appeal to Gallic faith. I almost regretted the lie I had uttered, however excusable it might be in view of the treachery that the Frankish warriors had practiced towards me. At that critical moment I was, however, bound to consider my own safety only. I jumped at Riowag, and after a violent struggle in which Elwig did not venture to take a hand, out of fear that she might wound her lover while seeking to strike me, I succeeded in disarming the warrior. Soon as that was done I threw myself into a posture of defense with the sword in my hand and cried:

"No, I have no treasure for you, Elwig, but if you fear to return to your brother, follow me. Victoria will treat you kindly; you will not be a prisoner; I give you my word; you may rely upon the faith of a Gaul."

Both the priestess and Riowag refused to listen; breaking out into wild imprecations they made a furious rush at me. In the tussle that ensued I killed the black warrior at the moment when he sought to stab me with his dagger, and I was wounded in the hand in the attempt to wrench the knife from Elwig's grasp. I had just succeeded and thrown the weapon into the water when, attracted by the noise of the struggle, Douarnek and one of the soldiers leaped upon the shore to hasten to my help.

"Schanvoch," Douarnek said quickly to me, "we did not follow your orders and row back at sunset. We remained at our anchorage, resolved to wait for you until morning. But thinking that you might issue at some other spot than where you landed, we rowed up and down along the shore. When we saw you this morning surrounded by those black devils, our first impulse was to row straight to the bank and suffer death beside you. But I recalled your orders, and we considered that for us to be killed was to cut off your retreat. But here you are, hale and sound. Now take my advice and let us return quickly to camp. These skinners of human bodies are ill neighbors to dwell among."

While Douarnek was speaking to me, Elwig threw herself upon the corpse of Riowag and rent the air with roars of rage interspersed with sobs. However detestable the creature was, her paroxysm of grief touched my heart. I was about to address her when Douarnek cried:

"Schanvoch, look at the torches approaching yonder!"

Saying this Douarnek pointed in the direction of the Frankish camp. Luminous streaks were seen rapidly approaching through the dark.

"Your flight has been discovered, Elwig," I said to her, and sought to tear her from her lover's corpse, which she held clasped in a close embrace and over which she moaned piteously. "Your brother has started in your pursuit – you have not a minute to lose – come! – come! – or you are lost!"

"Schanvoch," Douarnek said to me as I vainly sought to drag away Elwig, who seemed not to hear me and sobbed aloud, "the torches are carried by armed horsemen! Listen to the clanging of their weapons! Listen to the tramp of their horses! They cannot be further than six bow shots! I beached the bark in order to reach you all the quicker! We shall have barely time to put it afloat! Would you have us all killed? If that is your purpose, say so, and we shall die like brave men; but if you mean to flee, it is high time that you move!"

"It is your brother! It is death that is approaching!" I once more cried to Elwig, whom I could not bring myself to abandon without one more effort to save her. After all, she did save my life. A minute later and she would be lost.

Seeing, however, that the priestess did not answer me, I cried to Douarnek:

"Give me a hand – let us take her away by force!"

It was impossible to tear Elwig from the corpse of Riowag; she held it in a convulsive embrace; the only alternative left was to carry off both bodies. We tried it, but soon gave up the attempt.

In the meantime the Frankish horsemen were approaching so rapidly that the light of their resinous torches projected itself as far as the beach. It was too late to save Elwig. Our bark was with difficulty pushed off; I took the rudder; Douarnek and the two remaining soldiers bent vigorously to their oars.

We were still within easy bowshot from the shore when, by the light of the torches that the troops carried, we saw the first hurrying Frankish horsemen ride up. At their head I recognized Neroweg, the Terrible Eagle, distinguishable by his colossal stature. He was closely followed by several other horsemen, all shouting with concentrated rage. Neroweg drove his horse up to the animal's neck into the river. His companions did the same, while they brandished their long lances with one hand and with the other their torches, whose ruddy reflections lighted far the waters of the river and fell upon our swiftly speeding bark.

Seated near the rudder, my back was turned to the bank and I remarked sadly to Douarnek:

"The miserable creature is killed by this time."

And propelled by the three vigorous oarsmen, our bark shot through the water.

"Is that a man, a woman, or a demon that is following us?" cried Douarnek a moment later, dropping his oar and rising on his feet in order to look at the track that our bark left behind, and that was lighted by the glimmer of the distant torches that the Frankish horsemen continued to brandish even after they gave up the pursuit.

I also rose to my feet and looked in the same direction. A second later I cried:

"Stop! Do not row! It is she! It is Elwig! Douarnek, hand me an oar! I shall reach it to her! She seems to be exhausted!"

So said, so done. Fleeing from her brother and certain death, the priestess had thrown herself into the water and must have swam after us with extraordinary vigor. She seized the extremity of the oar with a convulsive grasp; two strokes of the oars backed the bark to her; and aided by one of the soldiers I was able to draw Elwig on board.

"Blessed be the gods!" I cried. "I would always have reproached myself for your death."

The priestess made no answer; she let herself down on the bench of one of the oarsmen, and shrinking into a heap with her face between her knees, remained ominously silent. The oarsmen rowed vigorously on, and from time to time I looked back at the receding river bank. The torches of the Frankish horsemen glimmered fitfully, luminous spots through the haze of the night and the vapors that rose from the river. The end of our passage drew near; we began to distinguish the lights of our own encampment on the opposite bank. Several times I addressed Elwig, but received no answer. I threw over her shoulders and her clothes, wet with the chilly waters of the Rhine, the thick night cloak of one of the soldiers. In doing this I touched one of her arms; it was feverishly warm. A stranger to all that happened in the bark, the woman did not emerge from her savage silence. As I jumped ashore I said to Neroweg's sister:

"I shall take you to-morrow to Victoria. Until then I tender you the hospitality of my house. My wife and her sister will treat you like a friend."

She made me a sign to lead the way, and she followed. Douarnek then approached me and said in a low voice:

"If you take my advice, Schanvoch, after the she-devil, who I know not for what reason swam after you, has dried and warmed herself at your hearth, you will lock her up safely until morning. She might otherwise strangle your wife and child during the night. There is nothing more wily and ferocious than these Frankish women."

"It will be a wise precaution to take," I answered Douarnek.

And accompanied by Elwig, who, somber and silent, followed me like a specter, I proceeded homeward.

CHAPTER VII
SHADOWS ACROSS THE PATH

The night was far advanced. I had reached within a few steps from my house when I saw through the dark a man crouching on the sill of one of the windows. He seemed to be peeping through the shutters. I gave a start. It was the window of my wife's room.

I seized Elwig's arm and said to her in a low voice:

"Do not budge – wait – "

She stopped and stood motionless. Controlling my emotion I advanced cautiously, seeking to avoid making the sand crunch under my feet. I failed. My steps were heard; the man jumped down from the window sill and fled. I rushed after him. Thinking that I meant to leave her in the lurch, Elwig ran after me, overtook me and seized me by the arm, crying with terror:

"If I am found alone in the Gallic camp I shall be killed!"

Despite all I could do, I could not disengage myself of Elwig's hold until after the man had vanished from sight. He had too long a lead and the night was too dark for me to endeavor to catch him. Surprised and uneasy at the incident, I retraced my steps, and knocked at the door of my house.

I could hear from within the voices of my wife and her sister, who seemed uneasy at my prolonged absence. Although they knew not that I had gone to the Frankish camp, they had not yet retired.

"It is I!" I cried to them. "It is I, Schanvoch!"

The door was no sooner opened than my wife, seeing me by the light that Sampso held in her hand, threw herself into my arms, saying in a tone of sweet and tender reproach:

"At last you are back! We began to feel alarmed about you, seeing you were gone since early morning."

"And we, who counted upon you for our little feast," put in Sampso; "but I suppose you met with old comrades in arms, and time passed quickly in their company."

"Yes, I suppose the conversation was strung out over battles," added Ellen still hanging on my neck, "and my dear Schanvoch forgot his wife, just a little – "

Ellen was interrupted by a cry from Sampso. She did not at first notice Elwig, who had remained in shadow near the door. At the sight, however, of the savage creature – pale, sinister and motionless – my wife's sister could not repress her surprise and involuntary fear. Ellen quickly stepped back, noticed the presence of the priestess, and gazing at me as much surprised as her sister, said:

"Schanvoch, who is that woman?"

"Why, sister," cried Sampso forgetting the presence of Elwig and looking at me more closely, "look, the sleeves of Schanvoch's blouse are red with blood – he is wounded!"

My wife grew pale, stepped quickly back to me and anxiously scanned my face.

"Calm yourself," I answered; "my wounds are slight. I concealed from you both the mission on which I was bound. I went to the camp of the Franks, our savage foes. I carried a message from Victoria."

"To the camp of the Franks!" Ellen and Sampso cried terrified. "That meant death!"

"And this is the being who saved my life," I said to my wife, pointing at Elwig, who stood motionless at the door. "I must bespeak the attention of you both in her behalf until to-morrow."

When they learned that I owed my life to the Frankish woman my wife and her sister hastened toward Elwig, moved by a simultaneous impulse of gratitude; but they almost immediately stopped short, intimidated and even frightened by the sinister and impassive countenance of Elwig, the priestess, who seemed not to see them, and whose mind probably hovered over scenes far away.

"Give her some dry clothes, those that she has on are wet," I said to my wife and her sister. "She does not understand Gallic; your thanks will be lost upon her."

"Had she not saved your life," Ellen said to me, "I would think the woman's face looks somber and threatening."

"She is a savage like the rest of her people. Get her some dry clothes, and I shall take her to the little side room, where I shall lock her up as a matter of precaution."

Sampso went into a contiguous room to fetch a tunic and mantle for Elwig, while I said to my wife:

"Did you hear any noise at the window of your room to-night, shortly before I came in?"

"None whatever – neither did Sampso; she did not leave me since evening; we both felt uneasy at your absence. But why do you ask?"

I did not then answer my wife, seeing that Sampso at that moment returned with the clothes that she had gone after. I took them, passed them over to Elwig and said to her:

"My wife and her sister offer you these clothes. Yours are wet. Is there anything else that you wish? Are you hungry, or thirsty? What would you have?"

"I want solitude," was Elwig's answer, rejecting the proffered clothes with a gesture; "I want the black night. Only that will suit me at present."

"Very well – follow me," I said to her.

Leading the way, I opened the door of a little chamber, and raising the lamp in order to light its interior, I said to the priestess:

"You see yonder couch – rest yourself, and may the gods render peaceful to you the night that you are to pass under my roof."

Elwig made no answer; she threw herself upon the couch and covered her face with her hands.

"And now," I said to my wife as I closed and locked the door, "these duties of hospitality being attended to, I burn with the desire to embrace my little Alguen."

I found you, my child, sleeping peacefully in your cradle. I covered you with kisses, that were all the sweeter to me seeing I had that very day feared never to see you again. Your mother and her sister examined and bandaged my wounds. They were slight.

While Ellen and Sampso were attending to me, I spoke to them of the man whom I had caught sight of on the window sill, and who seemed to be peeping through the shutters. They were greatly astonished at my words; they had heard no sound; they had been together since evening. While talking over the matter, Ellen said to me:

"Did you hear the news?"

"No."

"Tetrik, the Governor of Gascony and relative of Victoria, arrived this evening. The Mother of the Camps rode out on horseback to meet him. We saw him go by."

"And did Victorin accompany his mother?"

"He rode beside her. That must be the reason that we did not see him during the day."

The arrival of Tetrik gave me food for reflection.

Sampso left me alone with Ellen. It was late. Early the next morning I was to report to Victoria and her son the result of my mission to the camp of the Franks.